All-American 'Idol'
Worried about the state of race relations in the U.S.? Fear not -- our favorite TV show proves we may be on the right track
We never miss "American Idol" at our house. There, I said it. I had to, given the Dante-reading, viola-playing image I like to project of my family, I can't spend night after night glued to the TV, led around by the nose by that oily twerp, Ryan Seacrest, without eventually confessing my secret shame.
In my defense, the wife and boys started watching, and I was slowly drawn in. Elements do intrigue -- that Paula Abdul, a decade after her fame as a singer/choreographer fizzled out, can find herself at the epicenter of American pop culture is a testimony to the glorious possibilities of our country. And F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. . . .
I even began sharing my wife's lip-curling contempt for Brooke White, the blond, blue-eyed naif who inexplicably survived the culling process while her talented betters, like Carly Smithson, were booted off the show.
Wednesday it came down to the aptly named White or snazzy singer Syesha Mercado. One had to go. They tease out the drama for about half the show, and nerves started to get to us. My wife announced that, if Brooke won, she would never watch the program again.
"I hate to say it," I said. "But if Syesha goes, it has to be racism." Mercado is black. Viewers vote by dialing phone numbers, and do, by the tens of millions. In my heart, I doubted whether middle America would really vote for the talented black woman over the bubbly white idiot.
But they did. Syesha stayed on, and Brooke got the heave-ho. At last! We all cheered. Maybe there's hope for our country yet.
From Dwight Lee:
"You finally did it. Made me write. You are a small, horrible person! Obviously you also think you're very clever 'and have no desire to be stuck for the next four years with a minister preaching delusion and near-treason.' How exactly would you and your fellow racist have been stuck with Rev Wright? He's already retired. . . . So how would you have been stuck with him? Everyone sees you for just what you are . . . a closet racist."
Dear Mr. Lee:
I can't be much of a closet racist if I'm announcing it in the newspaper, now can I? For being retired, Rev. Wright does get about, doesn't he? But what I'd like to know is which opinions in this column or any other you find make me a racist and a "small, horrible person." Unless of course my being white is reason enough, in your eyes. Alas, if true, you are not alone in that inclination. If that is the case, I would suggest that it is you, and not me, who should be using this moment to reflect. Thanks for writing.
Michael Riley writes:
"I agree with you that Rev Wright's speeches have been toxic. But you must understand we blacks can be paranoid. We have had experiments performed on us. Now I don't believe the AIDS virus story but the Tuskegee experiment on blacks was a true story. And it didn't come out until somebody spilled the beans. If that hadn't happened it could still be going on. Whites haven't exactly welcomed us with open arms in this country. ... We are paranoid for a reason. It's not all in our heads or all in the past."
Mr. Riley:
And what you must understand is that I do understand. The question isn't whether bad things have happened, but how you interpret those bad things in the larger context. Bad things -- I don't think I need to tell you -- have happened to Jews, too. Yet the government plots against us don't lead me to believe that 9/11 was a Bush administration conspiracy, as some poor souls believe. Paranoia, like bigotry, is a form of ignorance, and it looks bad. What we're seeing with Wright is the self-flattery that many groups indulge in, in private, being exposed to public scrutiny. I think there's a lesson here, but the lesson isn't necessarily for America as a whole. Thanks for writing.
Rashid Carter of Olive-Harvey College writes:
"I am a regular reader of your article. You are a tremendously skilled and witty writer. However, I think it is safe to say that your comments today about Jeremiah Wright were a bit over the top. It's one thing for a man to spout ill-conceived conspiracy theories about the American government; but comparing this same man to a traitor looking to support Russian overthrow of the U.S., a traitor looking to cripple the U.S. war effort, and a man who killed a few hundred U.S. citizens, is plain bizarre. ...
Mr. Carter:
I appreciate your kind thoughts and think I can clear up your concerns. I was not "comparing" Wright to the great traitors of American history, but rather using them to illustrate my point about vets and patriotism. If you say, "I am a good person because I am a vegetarian," and I answer, "I don't see the connection -- Hitler was a vegetarian," then I am undermining the logic of your point, not comparing you to Hitler.
I hope that helps. Thanks for writing.
Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a violin case?
They think he's carrying a machine-gun and might be about to use it.
Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a viola case?
They think he's carrying a viola and might be about to use it.
